Ball-and-socket fastening.



No. 7|0,439. Patented Oct. 7, I902.

U. E. DICE.

BALL AND SOCKET FASTENING.

(Application filed July 10, 1901.)

(No Model.)

. I flttozum 5 .ma mums PUER5 co. wnm'auwon wAsmMc-Tou, n cy UNiTnnSTATES PATENT Orricni- URBAN E. DICE, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

BALL-AND-SOCKET FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 710,439, dat d O tober7, 1902. Application filed July 10, 1901. Serial No. 67,767. (No model.)

To (ti/Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, URBAN EPHRAIM DICE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ball-and-SocketFastenings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved ball-and-socketfastening that shall be of simple, durable, and economical construction,of easy and speedy manipula tion, and not liable to accidentalseparation.-

In my drawings herewith I have illustrated the application of myinvention to corsets; but obviously the invention can be used on belts,gloves, or other articles where parts are to be temporarily heldtegether.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction of parts hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the drawings referred to, Figure 1 is a view of the front of acorset, showing the fastening applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a view of asingle ball and socket on a large scale, the parts being separated. Fig.3 is a sectional view of the same, the broken lines indicating the modeof effecting the connection. Fig. 4 is a view of the outer end of thesocket.

In the several views, 1 designates the, ball portion, which is shown tobe of spherical form and provided with a rigid shank 1. This shank isshown to be of gooseneck form and slightly thickened or enlarged alongits middle portion, thereby forming a groove 1 adjacent the ball portionfor the purpose to be hereinafter explained. The shank of the ballportion has a fastening-plate 1", that can be secured to the stay of thecorset bymeans of rivets passed through both the plate and the stay tohold them together.

The socket portion 2 and its shank are indicated to be shaped or formedout of a single piece of sheet metal. The socket proper is shown to beconcavous-that is, it has a rounded bottom 2 and upwardly rising therefrom symmetrically-concaved and slightly- .elastic wings 2 to form aspherical cavity closely fitting and inclosing the sides of the ballportion. These wings are of such form as to leave a free opening at theouter end, permitting the insertion of the ball, and also to form anarrow slot or opening 2 at the top extending into the inner end of thesocket portion. The slot is of such transverse diameter as to permit thepassage of the shank of the ball portion, but not of the ball portionitself, which is to be inserted from the outer end or through theopening at 2. The upper edges of the wings 2 where they form the slotconverge at the points 2", so that the shank of the ball portion whendrawn through or turned down in the opening 2 tends to slightly springthe points 2 asunder, and when the shank of the ball portion is down itwill be locked against ordinary tendencies to lift it; but I do not atthis time regard this as an indispensible feature of the construction.The socket portion can be fastened to the stay by a fastening-plate likethat on the shank of the ball portion. When the middle portion of theshank 1 of the ballis enlarged, as hereinbefore stated, the groove 1 isengaged by the edges of the wings 2 at the inner end of the socket,thereby preventing undue longitudinal movement of the shank or ball inthe socket when the parts are engaged. The fact that the socket portionis shaped to conform closely to the ball portion insures good frictionalcontact between the parts when united and aids in preventing unduelooseness and accidental separation. Moreover, the socket portion can bemade small and sightly.

When the parts are to be hooked together and the shank 1 is short,itwill be expeditious, even if not necessary, to tilt the shank and balloutward, as indicated by broken lines, Fig. 3, preparatory to insertingthe ball in the socket, and when the ball hasreached its seat the shankis drawn downward to its fastened position. The ordinary tension on theparts of a corset, belt, or other article of. apparel serves to keep theparts of the fastening together, and an intentional effort will benecessary to effect their separation.

Where a group of the devices is employed and arranged in line on singlestays-as, for example, in a corset-the entire series of balls andsockets can be connected or separated by a single manipulation of thestays.

It Will be observed that with the construction shown and described whenthe ball is Within the socket it is inclosed, so that things cannotcatch under it to tend to lift or pull it out, and that because theshank of the ball portion passes through or lies in the opening at theinner end of the socket portion the ball directly engages the socket,and the pull or draft is therefore directly between the ball portion andthe socket.

lVhen I speak in my claims of the inner end of the socket portion, Irefer to that end next the stay or part bearing the shank of the ballportion, and of course the outer end of the socket Will be that oppositethis end, or that end through which the ball is inserted.

YVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with parts to be connected, a ball-and-socket devicefor fastening the same, comprising on one part a rigid shank and ballportion, and on the other part a spherical concavous socket portion toinclose the sides of the ball portion, said socket portion being open atits outer end to admit the ball portion, a slot in the top of saidsocket portion extending into the inner end of the socket portion, saidslot permitting the passage of the shank of the ball portion, but notthe separation of the ball portion by removal through the top of thesocket portion, said shank when the parts are connected passing throughthe inner end of the slot, substantially as described.

2. In combination with parts to be connected, a fastening devicetherefor, comprising a rigid shank and ball portion, a sphere-likecoucavous socket portion to inclose the sides of the hall portion, saidsocket portion being open at its outer end to admit the ball portion, aslot in the top of said socket portion extending into the inner end ofthe socket portion and of smaller width than the diame ter of the ballportion, whereby the removal of the ball portion through the top of thesocket portion is prevented, and elastic points in the slot normallyseparated by a distance less than the diameter of the shank portion toprevent accidental lifting of the shank when extending through the innerend of the slot, substantially as described.

3. In combination with parts to be connected, a ball-and-socketfastening device therefor, comprising a ball portion, a rigid shanktherefor having an annular groove adjacent the ball portion, and asocket portion open at its outer end to admit the ball, and having aslot in its top extendinginto the inner end of said socket portion, andpermitting the passage of the shank of the ball portion, the wall of theslot engaging the groove in the shank of the ball portion when the partsare connected to prevent longitudinal movement of the shank with respectto the socket portion, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

URBAN E. DICE.

Witnesses:

O. W. ALDRICH, GEO. M. FINCKEL.

